Gezicht op het Weeshuis op het Spui c. 1700

Jan van Call created this print of the Weeshuis, or orphanage, on the Spui in Amsterdam around the turn of the 18th century. This kind of topographical view was popular among the Dutch middle class, eager to celebrate their prosperous cities. But this image does more than just show us what the building looked like. The orphanage stands proudly as an example of Dutch civic virtue and the care of its citizens. It is one of many charitable institutions established in the Netherlands at this time. This etching comments on the social structures of its own time by highlighting the progressive values of Dutch society. To understand this image better, we might research the history of orphanages in the Netherlands and the social welfare policies of the Dutch Republic. Art, like this print, becomes meaningful when understood in its social and institutional context.